Improvement in plate-printing machines



'2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0.11.1111? Plate-Printing Machine.

Patented Nov. l19, 1878.

".FErERS. PMOTO-LITHOGRAPNER. wAsmNGON, D. C.

UNITED STAT-nsf PATENT CONSTANT ALEXIS GUY, oF--'rARIs, -FRA'NGE. 'i l IMPROVEMENT' IN PLATE-PRINTING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of lLetters Patent No. 210v,l156,4 dated November 19, 1878; application filed October 19, 1877; patented in England, August 15, 1876.

' land, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man,

under date of August 15,1876,of which the following is a specification:

My invention consists in the application off a series of wiper-cloths and the mechanism for operating the same to printing-presses especially' adapted for printing from plates, as fully described hereinafter, and shownin the accompanying drawings, in which-,fi

Figures l and 2 arecpposite side elevations, and Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section, of a cylinder-press with my improvements applied. Fig. 4 shows the application ofjsaid improve- Y ments to -printing-press having ahorizon'tally-- reciprocatingbed;l and Fig. 5 is a side viewl of the lever and vits shafts for reciprocating the wipers, said shafts bein g in section.

In the art of plate-printin g it is well known thatin `the wiping ofthe plates a certain-movementis imparted .to the wiper, Vwhich is neither,-

circular-,;nor rectilinear, but 'is a "compound curvilinear motion reciprocating in the direction of the length and width of the plate; and it is also well known that the wipers employed, in order -to perform good work, must be frequently changed.

To obtain the compound movement above referred to, which is essential in this style of printing, I4 employ a printing-cylinder, upon Y whichthe plate is xed; and to avoid the frequent A`change of wiper s,;I employ traveling wipers, ofany desired length, moving from one roller under the reciprocating wiper-cages ortension devices over the printing-cylinder, and fromthence to and around a second roller, upon which-they are wound.

The wiper-cages. or tension devices are provided withilexible lpads, such as felt, waste cotton, orsimilar soft and yielding substance, the wiper-cage or tension device being so arranged that-the pressure ofthe pad upon the wiper-cloth (hence the pressure of thelatter upon' theplate) may b e regulated at will.

In the accompanying drawings, Arepresents the main frame, constructed of any suitable material, and of such appropriate form as to receive the operating mechanism.

B is the receiving-table, and C the deliverytable. l) is a driving-pulley, carrying a pinion, cl which communicates motion to the pressure-roller Eby means of the cog-wheel e, mounted upon the shaft of said roller.

. The cog.- `Wheelcgears with acog-Wheel, j', mountedvupon the shaft of the printin g-cylinder F, which carries `the engravedplate F.

Gn is the ink-reservoir, and g the ink-roller, whichtransmitsj ink to a series of distributing-rolls, g' g2 g3, the latter ofwhicli transfers the 'ink to the inking-rolls g4 g5 g, which ink the platen F 'as'it is broughtin contact therewith bythe-revolution of cylinder F.

The inking mechanism is operated from the same drivingshaft and pulley D by means of thecog-wheel h meshinginto `cog-wheel f and pinions h1 h2, as shown by Fig. l,

' I- is a toothed bevel-wheel, mounted on the Vmain driving shaft on the end opposite to that of pulley D. -Said wheell meshes with a bevelpinion, 5I', mounted upon a counter-shaft, K, which lies longitudinally of and has its bear-` ings k kin the side of ythe machine. (See Fia 2J .n v Ilflragrefthe wiper-cagesor tension cages or devceswhich are comppsedlof @frame l, rrO- videdgwith grooves, in `which slides a second frame, Z1, ca rrying thebloclrs l? lf. To the lastname d block, or to a plate connected therewith, is tixedone ormore layers of felt, rubber, waste cotton, or similar Vyielding material Z4. v

.7 6 is a setscrew` and l? is a spring, placed between .blocks l2 13, so that when the set-screw is -screwed d own the sliding frame ll and blocks will be correspondingly depressedyto regulate the pressure of the wiping-cloths upon the plate F. l

vt7 are arms attached tothe tension devices or .cages L. Said armsv slide freely in their bearings Z on the main frame.

M M are leversv pivoted to the outerend of arms ll. Said levers have theirl fulcra upon a shaft, N, arranged upon the side of the frame A. Y

The lower ends of levers M are forked and straddle a shaft, I or the lower ends may be slotted, as shown atm, Fig. 5, and in the slots -or forks of the levers work the eccentrics or cams k' k', by means of which the arms Z7 and the..wipercages or tension devices are recip- \y" rocated, and with the latter the wiper-cloths,

as will be readily understood.

It will be seen that by this arrangement the wiper-cages are not only made to reciprocate the wiper-cloths upon the revolving cylinder on aline at right angles to the revolution of said cylinder, but also serve as tension devices to regulate the pressure of said cloths upon the plate on the cylinder, while they provide a flexible pad, which insures the perfect contact of the cloths with the plate.

N N1 N2 are the wiper-cloths, of any desired length and of suitable material 5 and O Ol O2 O3 O4 O5 are rollers arranged in pairs, and which carry the wiping cloths, one end of which is made fast to one roller and the other to the second roller of the pair, the bulk of the cloth being wound upon one of the rollers of each pair as follows:

Referring to Fig. 2, the cloth N is wound upon roller O, and travels in the direction of the arrow to wind upon roller O. The cloth Nll is wound upon roller O2 and winds upon roller O3, while cloth N2 winds from roller 04 onto roller O5, all in the direction of the arrows and passing under the tension devices or cages.

These rollers are operated as follows: P is a rod connecting a crank upon the outer end of the shaft of the printing-cylinder F with one end of a lever, p, the other end of which is loosely mounted upon the shaft of a ratchetwheel, p. The lever carries a pawl, p2, which takes into the teeth of the ratchet p1, and the shaft of the latter carries a sprocket-wheel or belt-pulley, R, which is connectedby a chain or belt to sprocket wheel or belt-pulley R1 upon the shaft of roller O, which lshaft carries a second sprocket-wheel or belt-pulley, R2, which communicates motion to the roller O-". The shaft of roller O3 carries a belt-pulley or sprocket-wl1eel,R3, and a second cna-R4, which lattercommunicates motion to roller O5 through sprocket-wheel or belt-pulley R5 uponthe shaft of the latter roller.

By means of the above-described arrangement of gearing, the rod P at every revolution of the printing-cylinder F will carry the lever p and pawl p2 back a certain number of teeth upon the ratchet-wheel p1. The pawlp?, taking in one of the teeth, will move the ratchet around a corresponding distance and communicate this motion to the rollers O1 O3 05, which causes the wiper-cloths N Nl N2 to wind upon said rollers an amount equal to the distance traveled by the ratchet.

It will be readily seen that by changing the throw of the rod P, as Well as the number of teeth on the ratchet-wheel p, the wiper-cloths may be moved any desired distance at each revolution of the printing-cylinder F, or they may be movedia given distance for every given number of revolutions of the printing-cylinder.

Supposing, for example, that each of the wiper-cloths N N1 N2 is of a length equal to one hundred meters long, and that theintermittent motion thereof is equal to a distance of ten millimeters for every impression taken, it will therefore be seen that ten thousand impressions may be taken before it becomes necessary to change the wiper-cloths.

The above number of impressions may, however, be doubled or trebled before it becomes necessary to change the wiper-cloths by gearing the latter to move one-half or one-third that distance for each impression, or even a less distance for every such impression.

By varying the size or diameter of cylinders F E, the former may be made to carry two or more engraved plates, by means of which a number of impressions corresponding with the number of plates employed may be taken at every revolution of the printing-cylinder.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the application of the wipers in combination with a reciprocat` ing table or fiat surface, and I here employ a series of guide-rolls, S, to hold the said wipercloths in proper position relatively to the wiper-cages or tension devices.

In the printing from copper plates I prefer to fix them upon a printing-cylinder instead of upon a flat table, as by the former me d I am enabled to obtain that compound movement of wiping illustrated in diagram, Sheet 2 of the drawings, which is so essential to the obtaining of perfect prints from such plates.

It will be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to any particular number of wipers, or to thelen gth and material of the same, as they may be varied, not only according to the size of the machine in combination with which they are employed, butalso according to the kind of printing to be done and the size ofthe plate from which the impressions are taken.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a printing-press, the combination with a rotating printing-cylinder carryingthe plate from which theimpressions are taken and a series of intermittently-moving wiper-cloths, of a corresponding 'series of wiper-cages or tension devices, adaptedA to reciprocate the said wiper-cloths laterally, and to regulate their pressure upon the plate, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In a printing-press, the combination, with a rotating printing-cylinder carrying the plate from which the impressionsl are taken and a series of intermittently-moving wiper-cloths, of a corresponding selies of wiper-cages or tension devices provided with flexible pads, and adapted to reciprocate said wipercloths laterally, regulate their pressure upon the plate, and insure perfect contact between said cloths and the plate, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. In a printing-press, a series of intermittently-moving and laterally-reciprocating Wiper-cloths, arranged to unwind from one supn porting-roll and Wind upon another supporting-roll, a corresponding series of laterallyreciprocating Wiper-cages or tension devices provided with flexible pads,under which said cloths are caused to travel, arotating printingcylinder carrying the plate from- Which the impressions are taken, apressure-cylinder, and an inking mechanism, all drivenfrom a main driving-shaft, and constructed and operating as described, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with the Wiper-cages or tension devices L L, constructed as described, and the wiping-cloths N N1 N2, ofthe arms Z6, levers M, shafts N K, andthe driving mechanism, all constructed and operating substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the wiper-cages or I tension devices and the mechanism for reciprocating the same, as described, ofthe Wiper cloths N N1 N2, rollers O Ol O2 O.3 O4 O5, and their, pulleys and belts Rl R2 R3 R4 R5, the pulley R, ratchet p1, pawl p2, connecting-rod p, lever P, and .the printing-cylinder F, substantially as described, for the purpose specied. Y

v 6. The combination of the printing-cylinder, the pressure-cylinder, the inking` mechanism, the reciprocating wiper-cages or tension devices, the wiper-cloths N N1. N2, and the feed mechanism and mechanism for reciprocating the tension devices and cloths with the main driving shaft and pulley I), pinion d, cog- Wheels e f I I', to operate the Whole mechanism from one driving-shaft, as described. l

In witness that I cla-im the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of May,

CONSTANT ALEXIS GUY. Witnesses:

RoBCr. M. HooPER., E. PAGE. 

